Nail-cutting machine



2 sheets-sheet 1.

(No Model.)v

G. W. PACKER.

NAIL CUTTING MACHINE.

1321161113941Dec.13,- 1887.

' WMI/1 HHN/WINIMf l,

2 sheds-'Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. WpPAGKER.

N-AIIJ CUTTING MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 1`3, 1887.

ma@ MDM@ l .E @a @m wf .Attorney/Ir f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. PACKER, OF ROOK FALLS, ILLlNOlSp NAIL-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION form-ing pari: of Letters Patent No. 374,807,dated December 13, 1887.

Application {iled August 6, 1887.

To all whom it may concern;-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. PACKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rock Falls, in the county of Vhiteside and State of illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nail-Making Machines; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has reference to naiLmaking machines, and pertains more especially to certain novel mechanism for cutting the nail from the bar.

The essential advantages which l claim ,in my invention are in originating and perfecting means by which the nails may be cut from the bar without the usual reversing of the latter.

As is Well known, cnt nails have a wedgelike formation when cut from the bar. Each cut is obliquely across the bar, and in order to change the wide end of vthe nail at each alternate cnt from one side of the bar to the other it has heretofore been necessary to reverse the bar after each cut. This reversal not only requires labor, but, what is of more importance, it consumes a certain amount of time, and therefore limits the spoed to which the machine is susceptible of being operated.

In my invention the design is to eut a nail at each half-movement lof the cutting-lever, to cut alternately from opposite sides of the bar, and to leave all the downward cuts oblique in one' direction and all the upward cuts oblique vin the other direction, so that the `wide end of the nail is taken alternately from the different ledges of the bar, and thereby leave the forward end of the latter preserved in proper shape. y

As my inventionpertains exclusively to the cutting of the nails and feeding the bar into the cutting mechanism, and the subsequent heading and finishing of the nails is in nowise different from that heretofore in use, l do not deem it necessary to describe or show any more of the entire machine thanwill Serial No. 246,250. (No model.)

make plain the construction and operation of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation in perspective of a machine embodying my invention, aportion being out away at the right to more 'fully exhibit the location of the cutting mechanism. Fig. 2 is a view o f the end of the machine opposite to that in which the cutting-knives are located. Fig. 3 is a partial plan of the same. Fig. 4 exhibits details of the feed and cutting mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail of the feed-pinions. Fig. 6 is a partial side view of feed mechanism. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section in the line v x of Fig. 6.

A is the frame of the machine, preferably of iron and vdesigned tobe rmly attached in some suitable mode to the floor.

B is a rotating horizontal shaft, journaled transversely of the frame A at the end thereof opposite the location of the knives'.

C is a driving-pulley, Fig. 2, seated rigidly on the shaft B, through which rotation is imparted to the latter; but said shaft may be rotated by gear, if preferred, or in any'other suitable manner.

C' is the usual balance-wheel.

D is a cutting-lever, which isfulcrumed near its cutting end on the frame A by means of lateral trunnions D', whereby said lever is adapted to oseillate in a vertical plane. The lever D might be fulcrumed by being pivoted on a stationary shaft; but I deem the mode hereinshown preferable,inasmuch as it readily affords means for compensating for the wear on said trunnions. Oscillation in a vertical plane is imparted to the lever D through the `medinm ofa short pitman, E, the lower end of which is pivotally attached to the rear end of the lever D and the upper end of said pitman pivoted in the elbow-crank B2, formed in the shaft B.

In the front face of the lever D are suitably seated,one above the other, the cutting-knives F and G, a side view of which is given in Fig. 1 and top view in Fig. 3. The bar His fed alternately above the upper knife, F, and below the lower knife, G.

It will be noticed in Fig. 3 that the upper knife, F, has its cnttingedge obliquel y to the axis of the leverD in one direction and that the lower knife, G, has its cutting-edge obliquely across that of the knife F.

In the frame A, above the point of ingress of the bar H, is firmly seated the stationary knife I. This knife I has its cuttingedge par- Y frameA below the point of ingress of the bar H, and has its entire cutting-edge parallel with that of the lower knife, G, on the lever D.

In the operation of the machine the har H, from which the nails are cut, is projected alternately between the oscillating knife F and fixed knife I and between the oscillating knife G and fixed knife K, the oscillation of the bar H being sufiicient to carry the knives G and F, respectively, suiciently past their opposing stationary knivesI and Kto sever the nail from the bar. The nail, after severance, is dropped in the usual receptacle, a, and from thence carried into the formingjaws, and is there headed and finished in the usual way.

The bar H is fed between the ad j ustable j aws L L,seated upon the side of the plate M,Which is rocked in a vertical plane upon the transverse shaft M, seated on the frame A in front ofthe cutting-knives. The plate or frame M is rocked at suitable intervals by a pitman, N, pivotally attached at its front end tothe upper end of the frame Maand collared at its opposite end upon the eccentric or cam B3, formed on the shaft B. The eccentric B3 is projected from the shaft B one-quarter of its circumference in front of the crank-wrist B2, whereby the action of the eccentric B3 and pitman N is one-quarter revolution in advance of each oscillation of the lever D, so that the end of the bar H from which the nails are being cut is moved alternately up and down slightly in advance of the like movement of the knives F and G on the lever D. It is while the bar H is thus in advance of the knife F or G which is next to operate upon it that said bar H is fed forward by the following mechanism: On the side of the frame M, Fig. 4, are seated the feed-pulleys O O, between and by which the bar His intermittently fed forward. The lower one of the pulleys O' is positively driven by mechanism hereinafter described, while the upper of said pulleys is utilized solely as an idler. Two segmental gears, P and P', are rigidly attached to the frame A on either side of the shaft O of the lower feed-pulley O, and on the latter shaft and between the segmental gears P and P are loosely seated two pinions, R and R', the latter of which, in the oscillation of the frame M, is engaged and actuated by the fixed gear P, and the other of which, in the opposite oscillation of the frame M, is actuated by the said gear P. Each of the pinions R and B is adapted to alternately intermittently engage and partially rotate through the pawl T, attached to said pinion, one of the ratchets S, keyed rigidly on the shaft O', which carries the lower feed-pulley O. The ratchets S have their actuating-surfaces in reverse direction, so that when one of said ratchets is in operation to rotate said shaft O the other said ratchet is inoperative, and vice versa.

As the center of oscillation of the plate M is the shaft M and the gear P is seated farther from said shaft than is the gear P, said fartherlocated gear P' and its correlative pinion R are made sufficiently larger or with greater intervals between the cogs,so that the greater movement of the frame M at that point shall result in rotating the lower feed-roller O no farther than is accomplished by the other gear,P,and its correlative pinion B.

One Very prominent advantage in my machine over prior ones is that in my construction the oscillating lever D is made to sever the nail at each half-movement, while in former constructions the severance took place only in one whole movement. `In thus doubling the operation of cutting with the same amount of oscillation I am enabled, as aforesaid, to make one of said cuts oblique in one direction andthe other oblique in the opposite direction, and therefore dispense entirely with the heretoforeerequired reversing of the bar H. The elimination of the operation of reversing the bar H is important not only in saving labor, but the time required for operf ating the bar necessarily limits the speed of ion the machine, while in my construction, with I the reversing of the bar obviated, there is no real limit to the velocity with which the machine may be operated. After the bar H is fed up to such an extent as that the outer end thereof does not reach the pulleys 0, such residue of the bar is pushed through between the jaws L by the next succeeding bar H, projected between said feedpulleys. Thereby each bar can be fed entirely through.

The knives F and G may be integral, if desired.

The distance from the cut end of bar H to shaft M is fifteen inches, and the convexity of the arc ofoscillation of such cut end quite slight. The lever D has the same length. Therefore the line of cut is substantially vertical. The contiguous surfaces of the knives F and G are coterminous and each of said knives beveled inward and backward from its' cutting-edge to give a cutting-edge. The projection of-each outer corner of knives F and G beyond the inner corner of the opposite knife F or G is very slight, being one sixty-fourth of an inch on a nail two inches long. The cut end of the bar H passes from between the cutting-.edges of the knives F and G to beyond the cutting-edge of each of said knives alternately on the slope which extends each way from midway between such cuttingedges to such edges. The bar H in its outstroke or oscillation passes the cutting-edges of knives F and G, respectively, at the time the pawls T are changing, and there is an interval between the disengagement of one pawl and the engagement of the other, and during this interval the bar H is not lfed forward, nor until it has passed said cutting-edge, which it does at the initiative of its oscillation. Both feed-rollers O are therefore free for an interval of time to yield backward if the bar II cramps against the knives F or G. l

The carrying-surfaces of the feed-rollers O are calculated Vto move more than the width of a nail at each impulse, so as to insure abutting the bar H against'the end of the lever D outside lof the knives thereon, and this excess more than compensates for any retrograde movement aforesaid of said rollers. Any reverse movement of barH between said rollers is easily effected, for the reason that one of said rollers i`s but an idler. The jaws L are adjustable on plate M by means of vertical slots Lin said jaws, through which saidjaws are attached, respectively,to plate M by means of bolts L2. (See Fig. 4.)

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1sv

1. In anail-machine, the combination of two stationary knives, I and K, and the oscillating lever D, bearing a knife or knives adapted to oscillate past the cutting-edges of the knives I and K, alternately, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

2. In a nail-machine, the combination ofthe fixed knives I and K, oscillating lever D, carrying knife or knivesl F and G, having their arc of oscillation alternately past the cuttingedges, respectively, of the knives I and K,and means, substantially as shown, for rocking and feeding the bar II forward intermittently, for the purpose described.

3. In a nailmachine, the oscillating lever D, provided at one end thereof with knife or vknives Fand G, adapted to swing past a suitably-related fixed knife at each end of the arc of oscillation of said lever D, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

4:. In a nail-machine, the combinationof the oscillating lever D, provided with knife or knives F and G, the fixed knives I and K, interposed oscillating jaws L L, and feed-rollers O O, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

5. In a nail-machine, the combination of the oscillating lever D, provided with knife or knives F and G, fixed knivesI and K, seated, respectively, near the ends of the arc of oscilla-A tion of the knives F and G, guiding-jaws L L, feed-rollers O O, oscillating plate M, pitmen N, driving-'shaft E, pinions R R', ratchets S S, pawls T, and fixed segmental gears P P, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described. e

6. Ina nail-machine, the combination of two xed knives, I and K, seated, respectively, near each end and outside the arc of oscillation of the cutting end of lever D, and the lever D, seated to oscillate its cutting end alternatelyl past the adjacent ends of knives I and K and provided at such cutting end with a knife adapted to cut past the knives I and K alternately at each oscillation of said lever D, substantially as shown, and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

GEO. W. PACKER.

Witnesses:

J oHN G. MANAHAN, C. E. STURTZ. 

